Every business on Instagram wants to gain more traction.
But amidst ever-increasing competition and frequent algorithm updates, doing so is getting harder and harder. As per a 2021 report, 50% of Instagram accounts had an engagement rate of less than 1% in 2020.
This is why Instagram brand ambassadors are crucial.
Simply put, brand ambassadors are people who truly love your brand, and are willing to become the face of it. They go on to share great things about your brand with their highly engaged networks, so that your brand is easily exposed to new audiences.
So far, so good, right?
However, every social media expert knows that implementing a brand ambassador program is no small feat. The toughest part? Finding the right brand ambassadors to represent your brand.
So in this article, we’ll walk you through the different ways to find Instagram brand ambassadors. But first, let’s understand who a brand ambassador is, and why you need one.
Table of Contents
Who Exactly is a Brand Ambassador?
Contrary to popular belief, not every influencer is a brand ambassador and vice versa.
A brand ambassador can be anyone—an existing loyal customer, a celebrity, or a social media influencer who is interested in your brand.
A good Instagram brand ambassador has a highly engaged audience, professionalism, and authenticity.
An ambassador won’t just talk positively about a brand because they’re paid for it, but also because they truly love the brand, and share the same values. Brands will typically train their brand ambassadors and sometimes, even let them in on some insider company knowledge.
This is what sets them apart as brand experts capable of endorsing a brand.
What’s more, the ambassador-brand relationship is approached as a partnership rather than a collaboration due to its long-term nature.
How can such partnerships benefit your brand? Let’s find out.
Why Do You Need an Instagram Brand Ambassador?
Several brands stick to just influencer marketing, which is absolutely fine.
However, there are several perks of partnering with an Instagram brand ambassador. Here are a few:
Improved Brand Awareness
Social media is a competitive space. It’s hard to build a large following if you post the same content every other brand in your niche is posting.
Most brands that advertise on social media worry about fitting in and not rocking the boat. And that’s exactly why most brands eventually fail.
Partnering with a brand ambassador can help you cut through the noise and stand out.
They’ll create unique, authentic, and engaging content, on a repeat basis, that familiarizes your target audience with your brand.
Wider Reach
Chances are that your brand ambassador already has several Instagram followers. A brand ambassador program will give you the chance to directly tap into that audience. This will help you reach people in different markets, time zones, and languages.
Technology company GoPro has a pretty popular brand ambassador program. Ambassadors typically share high-quality visual content shot using their GoPro’s on their social accounts.
Image via Instagram
This has helped the brand gain a massive following on Instagram, as well as reach millions of people!
Humanization
Consumers like to see a human face associated with brands.
Why is that?
Because it increases relatability and paints the brand as more authentic.
And there’s no better way to humanize a faceless brand than a brand ambassador program.
More Leads and Sales
The very nature of brand ambassador programs is to promote a brand or a product repeatedly over a long time period. Naturally, this will largely influence conversion rates.
A study indicated that online content created and shared by other consumers’:
- Influences purchase intentions
- Boosts customer acquisition
- Boosts retention
A major reason behind this effect is that people trust the word of a fellow consumer over branded content.
But it’s important to work with the right brand ambassador, which is someone who has built trust among their followers.
This will be evident in the level of engagement their Instagram posts get.
A brand ambassador who interacts with their followers regularly is perceived by them as a credible source of recommendations and information.
Plus, in order to convert, most of your audience will need to see your content seven times or more. Ambassadors are a great way to get your brand’s content in front of your target audience repeatedly, leading to increased sales.
7 Ways to Find an Instagram Brand Ambassador
Once you know that you want to partner with an Instagram brand ambassador, it’s time to jump on to the next step.
Here’s a mix of 7 ways and tips to find the right brand ambassador for your brand.
1. Be Clear About Your Goals
Before you find brand ambassadors, you need to be clear about what you’re hoping to achieve from the campaign.
What qualifies as a successful brand ambassador program to you?
Without clear goals, you’ll end up drifting aimlessly or worse, ending up with the wrong brand ambassador for your brand.
So, start by listing down your goals. You can also have more than just one goal, but make sure you’re being realistic.
Set your KPIs. For example, with a top-of-funnel brand awareness goal, you want to track and judge success based on the number of impressions, views and engagements that your ambassadors generate.
Similarly, if your goal is bottom of the funnel conversions, you can track the performance of each brand ambassador by giving them a unique discount code or affiliate link.
2. Find Influencers in Your Niche
Because a lot of influencers double up as brand ambassadors, it is a good idea to start your search with influencers. What’s more, these social media celebrities are experts at creating content. So, with an ambassador program consisting of influencers, you will be able to produce eye-catching content.
However, make sure that you find influencers that align with your brand’s values and mission. Remember—you want to build a long-term relationship with them.
3. Conduct an Instagram Search
Happy customers make for the best brand ambassadors.
Provided you have a good product that sells, you’d be surprised to see how many of your customers are already talking about you on social media.
Image via Instagram
Keep track of such people by checking your mentions, tagged photos, and Direct Messages regularly.
Then, reach out to the owners of these social media accounts.
Tell them how much you appreciate their feedback, and reward them with free products or exclusive discounts.
If you have a proper brand ambassador program in place, ask them if they’d want to sign up for it.
The best part about customers-turned-ambassadors is that it comes across as natural. Because such customers were already singing praises of your brand, their endorsements will seem authentic.
4. Get Innovative with Compensation
Your campaign shouldn’t just benefit your brand, but also the chosen Instagram brand ambassadors. This implies a fair compensation package.
But what if you have a thin budget and can’t pay your brand ambassadors yet?
Here are some other creative ways to compensate chosen content creators:
- Invite them to special events: This is a great way to show them that they’re valued, along with making them feel like a part of your brand.
- Offer them exclusive access: Give chosen Instagram brand ambassadors exclusive access to brand updates. Launching a new product? Send it to them first! Offering early bird discounts? Send them an email so they can share exclusive discounts with their audience before they go live to the general public.
- Treat them to attractive deals: If you can’t pay ambassadors upfront, you can at least give them special deals such as free products or a large discount on all products as long as the partnership lasts. This will also incentivize brand ambassadors to stick by you for a longer period of time.
5. Publicize Your Instagram Brand Ambassador Program
To get more brand ambassadors on board, you need to let people know about your program. Some mediums to spread the word are as follows:
Social Media
Talk about your brand ambassador program on various social channels. Also, make sure you include a clear call to action that states how interested Instagram users can apply.
Image via Instagram
Newsletters
If you have an email newsletter strategy in place, make sure you include your brand ambassador program in it. This is a low-cost and low-risk way to let people know about your program.
Transactional Emails
Do you send your customers an email every time they make a purchase with you? If yes, start mentioning a line about your program in each of these transactional emails. You can even reserve such emails for a certain category of customers—for instance, customers who shop frequently, or that shop for a certain amount.
6. Promote Your Program on Your Site
Promoting your program on your site is one of the best ways to reach an audience that’s already passionate about your brand. Ideally, you should dedicate a separate page for the purpose.
Take a look at how Red Bull promotes its brand ambassador program on its site:
Image via Red Bull
7. Invest in a Brand Ambassador Tool
Finally, if you want to take the easy way out, you can always use a brand ambassador tool to find suitable candidates for your program.
What’s great is that a lot of these tools will even help you execute your program and track results.
Track the statistics of each of your brand ambassadors’ posts, such as:
- Reach
- Engagement rate
- Link clicks
You can also track inbound traffic, new followers on your brand’s Instagram page, and sales revenue compared to your investment in the brand ambassador program.
FAQs
1. How do you become a brand ambassador on Instagram?
To become a brand ambassador on Instagram, take the following steps:
- Develop a unique tone of voice
- Put out high-quality content consistently
- Build a strong following
- Engage with your audience
- Be professional
- Reach out to relevant brands
2. Do Instagram brand ambassadors get paid?
Yes. Just like with influencers, brands pay their ambassadors to spread the word about their business.
In cases where brands can’t offer monetary remuneration, they may offer compensation in the form of invites to special events, exclusive access, and other attractive deals.
3. Is being a brand ambassador on Instagram worth it?
Yes. Being an Instagram brand ambassador on Instagram is definitely worth it. As more and more brands compete for the same eyeballs, the demand for brand ambassadors will only increase.
Besides, becoming an Instagram brand ambassador can go a long way in enhancing your personal brand. It is also a great opportunity to pick up some valuable skills.
4. What’s the difference between influencers and brand ambassadors?
Although both Instagram influencers and brand ambassadors can help you meet the same goals, they’re slightly different. For someone to be a brand ambassador, they need to truly love the brand and align with its values.
What’s more, the brands generally nurture long-term relationships with ambassadors more than they do with influencers. Finally, one doesn’t necessarily need a huge online following to become a brand ambassador on Instagram.
5. How can I find Instagram brand ambassadors?
To find Instagram brand ambassadors, take the following steps:
- Be clear about your goals
- Find influencers in your niche
- Check the following of your existing customers
- Conduct an Instagram search
- Get innovative with compensation
- Talk about your program on social media accounts and in emails
- Publicize your program on your website
- Invest in a brand ambassador tool
Final Thoughts: Launch Your Instagram Brand Ambassador Program
Recruiting Instagram brand ambassadors doesn’t have to be overwhelming. By employing one or more of the tactics in this article, you will definitely come across people passionate about your brand.
Remember—what may seem like a lot of work right now, can generate lots of leads and revenue. And again, once your program is up and running, your brand ambassadors will be doing most of the work for you.
But if you don’t want to do all the heavy lifting alone, you can always reach out to a professional influencer agency like Get Hyped to do it for you. So, get in touch with us, and we’ll help you launch an Instagram ambassador program that gets you the results you’re looking for.
